


Where The Heart Is

by Cartoonygirl



Series: Home is [1]
Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: David is taking care of Max, Gen, IM SUCH A SUCKER FOR DADVID, also profanity warning or whatever but you've watched the show you know what to expect, because I don't want to make myself sad, but don't expect any sadness here, it's all fun here
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-15
Updated: 2017-08-15
Packaged: 2018-12-15 13:59:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 3,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11807385
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cartoonygirl/pseuds/Cartoonygirl
Summary: David thought he was finally getting back into the swing of ordinary life now that camp was over. But then he sees a news story about a missing ten year old boy. A ten year old boy who is very familiar.





	1. We Don't Believe What's On Tv

David wasn't sure if he even believed the news story at first. Honestly, he still didn't believe it even when the truth was proven to him. How did it all even happen? That would have to take him back to about a week ago.

\---------

He'd heard snippets of the news anchor's voice while making his usual morning coffee. 

"Missing ten year old... Parents under arrest... Child services..." These phrases were the kind of thing that made David feel sorry for whoever was going through them, but it never had anything to do with him. They could never evoke any real emotions. 

Until today. 

He glanced over at the tv as the scene shifted from the anchor to a photograph. 

"If you see this child, contact the police." David almost choked on his coffee. 

The boy onscreen was Max. 

David grabbed his phone from the kitchen counter where'd he'd left it. His apartment was so small that he barely even needed to stand up. He dialed in a number and fidgeted as it rang. 

"David, it is 6 fucking am. This better be important," Gwen's tired voice came through the phone. 

"Gwen. Gwen, have you seen the news?" David said nervously. 

"No. Why?" Gwen asked. 

"It's Max."

"What did the little shit do this time?"

"Either ran away or got kidnapped."

Gwen was left speechless, and David had to check to make sure the call was still going. 

"Gwen?" David asked.

"I can't believe it," Gwen whispered. "I mean, he's an asshole, but... he's  _ten._ " David understood her feelings perfectly. Max was so young for this to be happening. 

"I'm sure he'll be fine," David reassured her, but it sounded more like he was reassuring himself. 

David had to end the conversation and get to work. 

The whole train ride, he glanced around the city looking for a child in a blue hoodie. He saw a few, but none were the child he was looking for. 

Work moved slowly. David waited and waited and waited to get back into the city and continue what he knew would be a futile search for Max. He wanted to look anyways. 

David didn't see Max on the train that day, or the next day. 

The third day, however, was when everything changed. 


	2. Breaking and Entering

On the third day, David looked for Max on the train. He still didn't see him, and David decided that he had probably headed in a different direction than his city. 

He took the stairs up to his apartment (the elevator was broken, as usual). 

He heard loud cursing coming from down the hall, and David thought it was Max's voice.  _No,_ he chided himself.  _That's wishful thinking._

He noticed a figure near his door. Actually, the figure was at his door. With a bobby pin. Trying to pick the lock. 

The figure was short, wearing a faded blue hoodie. His eyes had bags under them, and he had on a backpack that appeared to be completely full. 

"Max?" Max jumped, realizing he had been caught in the act. 

"There is an explanation for this. I promise." It was the first thing David heard Max say that wasn't either hateful or sarcastic. 

"You're trying to break into my apartment," David pointed out. 

"No shit, David," Max grumbled. There was the Max that David knew and... didn't _exactly_ love. 

"How did you find my address?" David asked, wondering if Max had been stalking him. 

"You send all the camp letters from this address," Max held up a Camp Campbell letter. "It's not like it was hard to find."

David sighed. 

" _Why_ were you breaking into my apartment?"

"Well, I totally wasn't going to steal your money and valuable objects." 

"Max, I have no money or valuable objects. Why do you need them?"

"God, you ask a lot of questions. Aren't you happy to see me?" Max said dryly. 

"Yes. But that's not the point. Where are your parents?"

"In prison," Max mumbled. "For committing a bunch of fucking crimes." David wanted to tell Max not to swear, but he decided that this wasn't the time. "Look, I'll just go." Max turned to leave. 

"Max, wait," David said. He pulled out his key. "I'd rather you just stay here. It's getting dark out."

David turned to unlock the door. He wasn't entirely sure, but he thought he saw a small smile on Max's face. 

Inside the apartment, however, Max looked a bit shocked. 

"You  _live_ here? How the fuck do you fit a bed into this place?" Max exclaimed.

"Oh, come on, Max, it's my home! Isn't it cozy?"

"Sure." 

David instructed Max to sit down on the couch while he rummaged through his fridge. 

"What do you want to eat? I can make eggs, soup, toast..." David continued searching. 

"I'm not really hungry." Max muttered.

David sighed. He sat down on the couch next to Max. 

"Do you want to explain why you're here?" He asked. 

"Not really." Max replied. 

"Would you be mad if I called the poli-" 

"YES." Max interrupted.

"Max, somebody needs to know that you're here and you're safe." 

Max was uncharacteristicly silent. 

"...Fine."

After a very long conversation (also known as a very polite argument) with the police and a woman from child services, they reluctantly agreed to let David take care of Max, at least until they found a permanent solution. When David told Max this, he perked up. 

"Oh thank god," Max breathed. 

"I don't have another bedroom. Can you sleep on the couch?" David asked. 

Max nodded. 

David couldn't sleep that night, worry overtaking his thoughts. What Max going to be doing while he was at work? Would a school allow him, when it was almost the start of the school year? And most importantly, what was going to happen to Max?


	3. What To Do With Your Pessimistic Ten Year Old Child

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A SERIOUS FIC BUT IT'S KIND OF TURNED INTO A RIDICULOUS STORY   
> so this is really just the adventures of the optimistic dad and pessimistic son

"Max, since you're not enrolled in school yet, and because you don't have a babysitter, you're going to have to come to work with me." David told Max the next morning. Max groaned.

"You probably have a shitty job if you have to wake up at 6 am." He grumbled.

"Nope! Just a long commute." This did not make Max feel any better. 

The train ride was long and crowded, and David could tell that Max hated every second of it. He didn't complain, so David considered that a win. But then again, he might have just been too tired. Max had probably been traveling for days, possibly without sleep.

"We're here!" David announced, walking up to the gates. 

"No way," Max said. "You work at a fucking  _zoo_?" David couldn't tell if Max was surprised, annoyed, or excited. David hoped for the third, but it seemed unlikely. "What do you do?"

"I walk around to help people find the different areas of the zoo! We have the regions separated by weather, so there's..." Max stopped listening at this point. He started to wonder what kind of animals might be  _inside_ of the zoo. Max hadn't ever been to a zoo, so he didn't know what to expect. 

"Oh my god," Max whispered. "This is fucking  _awesome_." David smiled, feeling achieved. Maybe Max _didn't_ hate everything. 

"You can explore as we walk around, okay?" David said to Max. Max nodded. As they walked around, Max tried to look at every little detail. They passed into the warm weather section, and Max noticed the tigers.

"CAN THOSE KILL PEOPLE?" He asked. 

"Uh, yes. But they shouldn't!" David exclaimed. Max sighed, continuing on. He stopped again at the bears.

"Bears! David, can I stay with the bears all day?" He begged.

"Well..." David started. "I don't want you to get lost, Max."

"I won't! I'll stay right here. I swear!" Max promised. David thought for a moment. Then another moment. Then yet another moment. 

"Alright. But stay  _right here_." David relented. He didn't want to leave Max alone, but Max did deserve some small freedom. And if it was going to make him happy, then it was fine with David.

The work day went by like any other, just that David walked near the bears much more. Max was there, every time. But David was still scared to turn around for the irrational fear of Max suddenly disappearing into nothingness. 

When the day was over, David returned to the bear area and tapped Max on the shoulder.

"Max? It's time to go. The zoo is closed." David tapped Max again. He realized that Max had fallen asleep. He carefully shook Max awake. 

"I'm awake," Max mumbled, standing up from his spot at the edge of the bear enclosure. 

"Good. Let's go home, okay?"

"Okay."


	4. Return of the Cultist

Since Max refused to spend another day at the zoo (he'd been coming to work with David for three days now), David decided he was responsible enough to stay home alone. After he hid all the knives, scissors, and other sharp objects. 

Max was left home alone. He sat on the couch, texting Nikki and Neil. He was interrupted by a knock at the door. David had told him not to answer the phone, door, or window (after an unfortunate accident last year involving his door getting locked while he was gone). But Max wasn't really listening.

So he opened the door.

And found himself face to face with Daniel, the cultist who had tried to murder him that summer. He immediately shut the door, and picked up his phone to ask his friends for advice.

 **Max** : GUYS THE FUCKING CULTIST IS AT MY DOOR

 **Max** : HELP

 **Nikki** : Didn't he get poisoned?

"HEY! Are you interested in changing your religion?" Daniel called from outside the door.

"FUCK OFF!" Max replied.

 **Max** : YES SO HE SHOULD BE DEAD

 **Neil** : Actually, a fun fact about poisons

 **Max** : NOT THE TIME

"ZEEMOOG IS COMING!" Daniel tried again.

"THE POLICE WILL ALSO BE COMING IF YOU DON'T LEAVE!" Max exclaimed. He was met with silence for a few minutes. He decided that he was in the clear now.

 **Max** : ok I think he's gone

Max checked the peephole. Daniel, ever the persistent one, was still outside.

 **Max** : NOPENOPE HE'S NOT

 **Nikki** : KILL HIM

 **Neil** : NO DON'T DO THAT IT'S ILLEGAL

Max decided to call David, but first he stepped as far away from the door as possible.

David picked up extremely quickly.

"Max? What's wrong? Are you okay?" David asked.

"Remember how you told me not to open the door if somebody knocked?"

"Yes?"

"Somebody knocked and I opened the door."

"Max!"

"The fucking cultist is outside. Right now. He won't leave." Max paused. "What do I do?"

"Wait for him to go away. I'll be home soon."

"Okay." Max hung up. He walked back over to the door and checked the peephole again. Daniel was  _still there_.

"What do you  _want_?" Max yelled.

"To convince you that this is the right path! This will save your life, Max!" Daniel said.

"Just go away! I'm not interested in your cult bullshit!" Max exclaimed. He silently wished that David hadn't hidden all of the potential weapons, because he was pretty sure that Daniel had a knife and possibly more rat poisoning.

Max's phone rang. He answered.

"Max? Is he there? I'm almost home," David asked. 

"He's still there. I don't think he's going to leave."

"Stay in the apartment, away from the door, just to be safe."

"Okay." The call ended. Max texted Neil and Nikki to distract himself.

 **Max** : the cultist is still there

 **Max** : David's almost home though

 **Neil** : with or without the authorities

 **Max** : hopefully with, but it's David

 **Nikki** : they should FIGHT

 **Neil** : I'm pretty sure that David would not win in a physical fight

 **Nikki** : he won last time

 **Max** : THAT WAS NOT A FUCKING PHYSICAL FIGHT

Max heard footsteps outside the door. He opened it, just enough so that he could see outside. David had arrived home, without the police, as Max suspected. 

"Excuse me, but could you please move along now?" David politely asked. Max realized that David was taking the  _nice approach_ , which seemed like a really bad plan against somebody with a history of attempted murder and a knife.

"Oh, it's you again." Daniel sighed. Max wondered if this was the part where David got stabbed, and he also wondered if he should call the police. But they probably wouldn't get there fast enough. So Max, without exactly thinking, opened the door fully and threw a plastic spoon at Daniel. It bounced off of him harmlessly, but it gave David time to run into the apartment and close and lock the door.

"Are you okay?" David turned to Max.

"Fucking terrified, but otherwise, I'm fine."

David checked the peephole. An annoyed and angry Daniel was leaving.

"He's leaving." David told Max.

"Oh thank god."

"Now," David said. "Have we learned our lesson about opening the door?"


	5. School

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok so I put Max in fifth grade, and where I come from, sixth is the last year of elementary school, but I decided to make fifth the last year because I know it is in other places  
> (also isn't the chapter title so creative)

David had successfully enrolled Max in one of their town's public schools, Forest Hills Elementary. Max had refused to participate in back-to-school shopping, and now refused to even leave the house on the first day.

"I don't even know any of the kids! They probably all already know each other, it's their last year!" Max shouted at David. "Plus, I'm a straight C student! I'm gonna fail every fucking class!" 

"Max, it's just school! I'm sure you'll make plenty of friends. Your teachers will help you to learn everything you need to know," David reassured him. "And most importantly, I need you to stop with the language. At least in school, okay?" Max reluctantly agreed, not wanting to upset David.

"Fine, I'll go. But don't expect me to have fun!" Max said, leaving the apartment. 

"Bye, Max! I'll pick you up after school." David replied brightly. He felt a tear in his eye.  _They grow up so fast_ , David thought wistfully. Max had only been living with him for less than a month, but David already felt a strong attachment to the pessimistic child.

He quickly left for work. They'd agreed to let him come late because it was Max's first day, but David still wanted to get there early. He spent the train ride wondering how Max was doing in school.

\---------

Max was trying his best. The other kids gave him weird looks, probably because he was new. He talked to a few at lunch, and decided that _maybe_ they could be called his friends. Maybe.

The classes were a different story. He tried to focus, but the lessons were boring, and his mind kept wandering to different places. The teachers kept calling on him, and he bit back his sarcastic comments and answered the questions instead.

Eventually, he cleared his head and managed to pay attention in his favorite class- music. Their focus was on string instruments. Max was enthralled.

He didn't want to admit it, but he wanted David to help him learn guitar. He had never been able to take music lessons, when his parents had always been so busy with their "jobs". Before he knew it, music class was dismissed and the school day was over. 

As promised, David picked him up outside the main doors after school.

"How was your day, Max? Better than expected?" David asked hopefully. 

Max shrugged. "I guess."

"That's great! Did you make any friends? How were your teachers? Did you learn anything new?" David asked.

As the Max headed back to David's- no,  _their_ home- he told David about his teachers, the kids he talked to at lunch, and more. But mostly he talked about music class.

"We learned about string instruments, like guitars and violins and stuff," Max started. "Speaking of guitar... canyouteachmeplease?" Max rushed through the end. The question made David beam.

"Of course I can teach you guitar! In fact, we can start as soon as we get home-unless you have homework." David said. Max smiled. For the first time in a while, he was actually excited about something.


	6. Max Takes Guitar Lessons

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I DON'T KNOW HOW TO PLAY GUITAR I'M SO SORRY IN ADVANCE

As soon as Max had finished all his homework, David handed Max his guitar and sat down with him on the couch. David's guitar was almost the size of Max, and David had to help Max steady it on his lap.

"Okay, so to play a G cord, you hold your fingers here..." David instructed, moving Max's fingers to the correct frets.

"Like... This?" Max asked, slightly strumming the string. It made a nice sound, and Max smiled. 

"Good job, Max!" David encouraged. "Try it again."

Max strummed the guitar, playing the same note again. After practicing G a few more times, David taught Max C. He picked it up just as easily. The other chords were the same story. 

"Max, you're really good at this." David was overwhelmed with pride. Learning the guitar chords took months for him, but Max had learned them in just a few short hours. David glanced at the clock. It was almost 6:45. "You wanna grab dinner?"

Max nodded, but his eyes stayed on the guitar. "Can we keep practicing afterwards?" He asked, turning to look at David. Max's green eyes were bright and excited. David couldn't say no.

Max practiced again after dinner, and eventually, he began practicing after school every day. David eventually taught Max "Camp Campbell is the Place for you and Me," but Max refused to sing with it.

"I have a fucking terrible voice. No." Was Max's go-to reply whenever David asked him to sing.

However, one day the zoo had a special event and David got home late. When he got to the apartment, he heard singing coming from inside. It was Max. David immediately threw open the door.

"Max! You have such a lovely voice!" David exclaimed, running over to hug the boy. 

"NO I DON'T! YOU DIDN'T HEAR ANYTHING, DAVID!" Max yelled. 

"You need to sign up for music camp!" David ignored Max's previous statement. 

"NO! ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Max shoved David away.

"Well, you have to at least do  _something_. Your school talent show-"

"FUCK NO."

David's other suggestions were quickly shot down by the irritated Max.

"This is why I didn't sing." He grumbled, but secretly, he was happy that David thought he had a nice voice. It sounded stupid (at least to him), but Max really wanted to make David proud.

"Ok! I've got it." David said. He told Max his suggestion. Max thought for a second, then nodded.

"Fine. I'll do it."


	7. Nikki and Neil pay a Visit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I COULDN'T LEAVE THESE NERDS APART FOR TOO LONG

David's brilliant idea was this: Max would perform for his closest friends- Nikki and Neil. They arrived for a sleepover one Friday night, ready with sleeping bags, pillows, and eager ears.

After exchanging hugs and stories about their homes, Nikki and Neil sat down on the couch next to Max, who was holding David's guitar.

"Play us your song, Max!" Nikki exclaimed. She bounced on the couch excitedly.

"Yeah, I wanna hear you sing!" Neil added, joining in Nikki's bouncing.

"Jesus, okay, don't fucking rush me!" Max growled. He took a deep breath. 

And he began to sing.

_There's a place I know that's tucked away..._

_A place where you and I can stay..._

_Where we can go to laugh and play..._

_And have adventures every day..._

Nikki, Neil, and David were attentively listening, completely rapt. Max's soft and gentle voice echoed through the small apartment, filling every area. When he was finished, the three audience members cheered. Nikki and Neil gave him a big hug.

"Max, that was amazing!" Neil yelled. 

"You sounded so good! Tell me your secrets, Max." Nikki said. Max blushed, feeling slightly embarrassed at the attention. But he was also filled with another emotion- happiness.

Later, after pizza and s'mores, the three kids attempted to pull an all-nighter, but all fell asleep before David came to wake them at 8:30. Neil went first, at 1:24 am. Max was next, at 2:09 am. Nikki was last, at 2:37. They were exhausted when David woke them up that morning.

"Get up, kids! Your parents will be here to pick you up at 10:00." David said cheerfully. 

Before the ten year olds knew it, their parents had shown up. They traded sad goodbyes and promises to text each other. Neil and Nikki told Max that he should sing for all the other campers that summer. Max adamantly refused.

Once they were gone, Max felt tears spring to his eyes. He hadn't realized how much he'd missed his friends.

"You okay, Max?" David asked.

"I'm fine," Max wiped away the teardrops from his eyes. "Thanks for setting this all up, dad- DAVID. _DAVID_. SHIT." David smiled brightly, feeling like he was about to cry. "David, stop crying it was just a fucking mistake-" David wrapped Max in a hug.

"I love you, Max."

"I love you too, or whatever."

_I know it sounds hard to believe, but guys and gals it's true..._

_Camp Campbell is the place for me and you._

_**End part one.** _


End file.
